Publication date: Available online 15 August 2019Source: Innovative Food Science &Emerging TechnologiesAuthor(s): Hiba N. Rajha, Anna-Maria Abi Khattar, Sally El Kantar, Nadia Boussetta, Nikolai Lebovka, Richard G. Maroun, Nicolas Louka, Eugene VorobievAbstractThe effects of aqueous extraction of bioactive compounds from pomegranate peels using conventional extraction (CE) and extraction assisted by infrared irradiation (IR), ultrasound (US), pulsed electric fields (PEF), and high-voltage electrical discharges (HVED) have been compared. For the extractions assisted by US, PEF and HVED, the saturation in extraction was observed approximately at the same specific energy input in the order of W ≈ 90–100 kJ/kg. HVED assisted extraction enhanced the recovery of polyphenols by ≈3 and ≈1.3 times as compared to US and PEF assisted extractions, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) data evidenced that the highest yield of total polyphenols after the HVED treatment can reflect the presence of a strong damage of the microstructure of pomegranate skins. The obtained data on inhibition of growth of A. flavus and biosynthesis of aflatoxin B1 were explained accounting for the presence of different synergetic effects of phenolic compounds on inhibition of different bioactivities. All the studied extracts (0.2 mg/mL) demonstrated the higher inhibition efficiency for S. aureus (up to ≈80%) as compared to E. coli (up to ≈33%). PEF selec...

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By now most of us are familiar with Brexit, the UK’s pending divorce with the European Union. But in a play on that term, British doctors are also moving towards an exit they’ve dubbed “TRexit” from the most common sort of prostate biopsy: the transrectal ultrasound guided biopsy, or TRUS.
Men who test positive on the PSA cancer screening test will usually have a prostate biopsy that’s performed in either of two ways. With a TRUS, doctors guided by an ultrasound machine can sample the prostate using a biopsy needle inserted through the rectum. Alternatively, the biopsy needle can be inserted (...

Publication date: Available online 24 June 2019Source: Journal of Visceral SurgeryAuthor(s): A. Sokal, A. Sauvanet, B. Fantin, V. de LastoursSummaryAcute cholangitis is an infection of the bile and biliary tract which in most cases is the consequence of biliary tract obstruction. The two main causes are choledocholithiasis and neoplasia. Clinical diagnosis relies on Charcot's triad (pain, fever, jaundice) but the insufficient sensitivity of the latter led to the introduction in 2007 of a new score validated by the Tokyo Guidelines, which includes biological and radiological data. In case of clinical suspicion, abdominal ul...

Publication date: Available online 20 June 2019Source: Materials Chemistry and PhysicsAuthor(s): Anayansi Estrada-Monje, Roberto Zitzumbo-Guzmán, Jennifer A. Bañuelos-Díaz, E. Armando Zaragoza-ContrerasAbstractBy incorporating titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles, assisted by ultrasound, it was possible to confer antibacterial properties to an ethylene-co-vinyl acetate (EVA) matrix. A systematic study of the ultrasonic process was performed to determine whether or not the sonication parameters have a significant effect on the nanoparticles dispersion and therefore, on the composite antibacterial prope...

In this study, the inclusion complex of cuminaldehyde (CUM), a major constituent of cumin essential oil, with 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPβCD) was synthesised with the aid of ultrasound. The solid CUM/HPβCD-IC was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. The stability constants were evaluated by phase solubility, absorption and fluorimetry methods, and were found to be 168, 122 and 256 M-1, respectively. FT-IR and molecular modeling studies indicated ...

CONCLUSION: Patients who have been exposed to antibiotics before TRUSp are at higher risk of developing serious infections as a complication to TRUSp. CFLX-resistant E. coli were a major reason for hospitalization.
PMID: 31070079 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

In this study, we analyzed the metabolic profiling of fecal samples from SLE patients and healthy controls based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with mass spectrometry for exploring the potential biomarkers of SLE. The results showed that 23 differential metabolites and 5 perturbed pathways were identified between the two groups, including aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, thiamine metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, tryptophan metabolism, and cyanoamino acid metabolism. In addition, logistic regression and ROC analysis were used to establish a diagnostic model for distinguishing SLE patients from healthy ...

Rationale:
Acute appendicitis is one of the most common causes of acute abdomen in children, yet it is difficult to diagnose in young children because its clinical manifestations may be atypical. Here, 3 atypical clinical cases associated with appendicitis in children are reported.
Patient concern:
The 1st case corresponds to a 5-year-old male patient who presented with abdominal discomfort, intermittent fevers, and vomiting, have increased white blood cell (WBC) count and C-reactive protein (CRP). The second case is a 7-year-old male patient who began with intermittent fevers and lower quadrant abdominal pain, showin...